"Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast is troubled by the Senate Health and Welfare Committee's decision to pass SB 90 by Senator Fred Mills (New Iberia -- R) to the Senate for a floor vote.

"Abortion is a deeply personal and often complex decision for a woman. Ultimately, Americans agree that decisions about whether to end a pregnancy must be left to a woman, her family, and her faith, with the counsel of her doctor.

"Planned Parenthood supports common-sense medical regulations. Clinicians who provide abortion should be licensed and patients should be given accurate information and quality care. Unfortunately, some activists and politicians are pushing for additional restrictions targeting abortion providers only. These laws aren't about protecting women's health and safety; instead, they aim to limit women's access to safe and legal abortion.

"This bill imposes medically unnecessary requirements on abortion providers with the intent of eliminating access to abortion for women in Louisiana and falsely claims that non-surgical abortion is unsafe. A 2012 study in the nationally recognized journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology concludes that both non-surgical (medication) abortion and surgical abortion are very safe.

For nearly 30 years, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast has been the most trusted reproductive health care provider for women and men in Louisiana. Our two health centers in Baton Rouge and New Orleans provide access to affordable, high-quality preventive care including well woman exams, lifesaving cancer screenings, contraception, screening and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, HIV tests and risk reduction counseling, pregnancy testing and counseling, and medically-accurate, age appropriate sexuality education. In 2012, PPGC provided nearly 17,000 medical visits for women and men in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.